I can be dispassionate about the moderator issue because I've never had one. They are now given out like Smarties, but there is an open slot on my certificate dating from 2000 for a 'multi-calibre' .308 mod which I surrendered last week in my current Renewal. My excuse for 25 years of dithering are visceral. I dislike them, don't want them, don't need them. They're ugly, expensive, and overrated. Those who started out in the '80's and '90's when they weren't permitted already have damaged hearing to some degree, so see much less point in using them.
I'm not sure that BASC can claim much of the credit for de-licensing moderators. The police in the form of the NPCC and FELWG have been pushing for this change for years because administering mods takes up a stupid amount of time. Look at the latest figures here from NFLMS. There has been a reduction from 2024 to 2025 in almost every 'weapon type' column. The number of every type of shotgun has also fallen significantly.
The number of Rifles licensed has increased by only 241 in a year, but Moderators have gone up by 2,365. In fact Moderators are the only item driving up the 'S1 firearms' totals. You can see why the Home Office have decided to make them non-licensable. All this is cost driven from the Home Office and Treasury, just as full cost recovery of fees was. It has very little to do with the influence of shooting-related pressure groups like BASC and the NGO.
If anyone thinks vacant mod slots on FACs are going to be convertible for firearms I think they are wrong. That would generate extra work for FLDs so it won't happen. When mods lose their S1 status they will become an irrelevance in the licensing process, just like all the 'expanding ammunition' restrictions were made to disappear by legislation. I think they'll be purchaseable and tradeable only on production of an FAC, just like primers & powders are now. Ownership and use will be limited to certificate holders, which will be a nice and cheap solution for the gun trade and law enforcement.